good morning. race to the finish. president obama and mitt romney launch a two-month sprint to election day as a disappointing jobs report threatens to complicate the president's re-election effort. we're live on the campaign trail. storm front. severe weather in the forecast today in the northeast, a day after powerful storms rumbled across the nation's midsection, killing at least four people. this as tropical storm leslie kicks up life-threatening rip currents along the east coast. and speaking out. jurors in the drew peterson trial open up about the controversial hearsay evidence that led to the former policeman's conviction for killing his third wife, and his lawyers say it's a case they're willing to take all the way to

the supreme court, today, saturday, september 8th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. 59 days until election. here we go, the race is on. speeches are over, balloons have dropped. it's now time for barack obama and mitt romney to make their case to the nation as to why they deserve to be president for the next four years. >> each trying to work with the respective bounce in the candidates. both candidates campaigning in key battleground states this weekend with romney in virginia, the president in florida. and big question looming over all this, will friday's dismal jobs report blunt any momentum the president had coming out of the convention? we're going to discuss that and much more coming up in just a moment. then, a new twist in that

bomb hoax that forced a passenger plane headed to texas to return to philadelphia. this morning, why investigators are saying a love triangle may be to blame for that. plus, a piece of video we first showed you on friday, and a warning, it's pretty tough to watch. it's a maryland state trooper hit by a semi. good grief! while he was making a traffic stop. amazingly, he survived and had the presence of mind to get on the radio, call his dispatcher. this morning, you'll hear from him talk about his near-death experience in his own words. >> we've seen far too many of those sometimes from that surveillance video. plus, standing up to cancer. a star-studded night as celebrities and survivors come together to raise money to help fight the deadly disease. and then a bit later, the end of a marriage. comedians amy poehler and will arnett announce they're separating. the latest in a string of celebrity couple breakups. nice people. a lot of folks are expressing their heartbreak online about that. yeah, but we begin this morning with the race for the white house. president obama is campaigning today in the battleground state

of florida, a day after a disappointing jobs report showed the economy only added 96,000 jobs last month. nbc's kristen welker is in seminole, florida, traveling with the president. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, jenna. well, president obama begins a two-day bus tour here in seminole. he's hoping to build on any bounce that he may have gotten from the democratic national convention, despite the latest jobs numbers. campaigning in iowa with the first lady and vice present friday, president obama continued to paint the disappointing jobs report in a positive light. >> today we learned that after losing 800,000 jobs a month when i took office, businesses added jobs for the 30th month in a row. we've added more than 4.6 million jobs. but we know that that's not good enough. >> reporter: but the stubbornly high unemployment rate didn't stop the president from mocking republicans over what he said was their reliance on tax cuts. >> tax cuts when times are good,

tax cuts when times are bad, tax cuts to help you lose a few pounds, tax cuts to improve your love life. >> reporter: republican challenger mitt romney seized on the weak numbers to try to blunt any momentum mr. obama may have gotten from the democratic national convention, calling the report the hangover after the party. while campaigning in nashua, new hampshire, he told supporters -- >> today another report came out on the jobs front, another disappointing, sad report. >> reporter: earlier, romney also slammed the president's acceptance speech. >> and now you have a choice. >> reporter: which romney didn't see, but read friday morning. >> perhaps like me, you found it extraordinarily disappointing, surprisingly disappointing, because his speech four years ago, he laid out a whole series of lofty goals. and unfortunately, he was unable to meet them. >> reporter: the romney campaign is rolling out more than a dozen new ads in eight key swing states, all of which the president won in 2008, while mr.

obama is trying to rekindle the energy that helped him win the white house four years ago. >> the change that started here in iowa, the change that started here in iowa city, you were the change. >> reporter: now, from here, president obama heads to kissimmee, florida a little later on today. vice president biden is campaigning in ohio. mitt romney is stumping in another big battleground state, virginia. he'll attend the nascar race later on this evening. as for paul ryan, he is campaigning out west. he will begin debate prep in oregon on sunday. lester? >> kristen welker, thanks. john harwood is cnbc's chief washington correspondent. john, good morning. good to see you. >> good morning, lester. >> we've got some new approval numbers out to show the president's jumped seven points to 52%. hasn't seen a rating like that since the killing of bin laden, and by the way, these numbers were recorded before he spoke at the convention and before the jobs numbers came out, which

leads to the question, are we becoming numb to bad job numbers in this country? and if that's the case, how does that affect this campaign for the next 59 days? >> i don't know if it's numbness, lester, but we know that it's a weak economy and have for a long time. in fact, that was the premise of the president's nomination acceptance speech. this is a hard pack. he was trying to deal with the disappointment of so many voters in 2008 who voted for him, have been unhappy with the results, and he's trying to keep them with him. mitt romney had a different goal at his convention. he was trying to make those voters like him better. but everyone knows that we are going to be bumping along on a slow path to recovery for some time. this number yesterday didn't change that. >> we have to remember that this is a president that topped out our radar eight years ago when he delivered a speech at the democratic convention, and so he was really under the spotlight as he spoke. a lot of folks comparing it to the clinton speech, which was pretty compelling, to his own wife's speech. how did he do in terms of making the case to that really small group of voters who may have voted for him four years ago and now are on the fence?

>> well, two goals. one was to take those people who are with him and pump up their enthusiasm. david plouffe, the white house strategist, talked yesterday about improving the turnout dynamic for the democratic ticket. the other was making the case for that small sliver, maybe 6%, 7%, 10% of voters, try to say here's the future that you can look forward to, here's why it will be better in the next four years than the last four. that's what he was trying to do, and democrats, even though bill clinton may have roused the crowd a little bit more and been a better communicator on the national stage, i think democrats feel confident. and they look at at least the short-term bounce and say he accomplished some of this is goals. >> then you go back a week and folks talking about the republican convention, still talking about clint eastwood, who by the way, is now defending the speech he made to the rnc with the chair, telling his local newspaper that the remarks were off the cuff, that he kind of -- he stumbled upon the idea right before he came out. tell me -- he said mission accomplished, by the way.

was mission accomplished? did he get to the right people who needed to hear his message? >> no, he didn't. and if you talk to political professionals in both parties, they're almost unanimously agreed that that was a big blunder, a big setback for mitt romney. i talked to a republican member of congress to sum up these two conventions, and he said, look, the democrats had a better convention than we did. the question is, does it matter? viewership is down, where later in the campaign, so many ads have been run, voters are still polarized. the question is going to be whether it really moves a lot of people the way it used to when conventions drew greater coverage and had a little bit more suspense associated with them. >> all right, john harwood, good to talk with you. thank you so much. >> you bet. now let's get a check of this morning's other top stories and msnbc's alex witt joins us this morning, over at the news desk. hey, alex, good morning. >> yes, i am. good morning to the both of you. let's get to it, everyone, as residents along the east coast are bracing for potentially severe weather today. that could include tornadoes. a fast-moving cold front swept into northeast oklahoma friday

afternoon, spawning severe thunderstorms. two grandparents and an infant were killed when heavy winds destroyed their mobile home. a 70-year-old truck driver also died after wind flipped his tractor-trailer on to a cement highway barrier wall. meantime, bermuda's under a tropical storm warning with tropical storm leslie with top sustained winds of 65 miles per hour. they predict it will be a category 1 tomorrow when it passes east of the island. here in the u.s., swimmers are kept close to shore due to the danger for bigger waves and strong rip currents. the taliban is claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing near nato headquarters in kabul today. the huge explosion killed six civilians, including children. the attack came a day after the united states said it was designating the haqqani network, blamed for a number of high-profile attacks on western and afghan targets in kabul, a terrorist organization. illinois congressman jesse jackson jr. is back in washington, d.c., after being

treated at the mayo clinic in arizona. jackson is spending the weekend resting at home with his wife and children. the 47-year-old began medical leave in early june. he is likely to be back at work on monday when congress returns from its summer recess. and lots of kids get their hair cut so they look really good when they go back to school. however, in china, four brothers who are quadruplets had their hair cut so that their teachers could identify them. so, the kids now sport the numbers one through four on the top of their heads, corresponding to the order of their birth back in 2006. i don't know about that one, you guys. looks a little bit unfortunate. i don't know. what do you think? >> well, a tattoo would be permanent. >> well, there's only one way to find out. what do you say? come on, guys. it will grow back. it's probably not the worse thing to happen. >> i got it cut yesterday. >> looks good. >> thank you very much. i'm fishing for compliments. >> looks great. >> thank you. i got two. >> we want to check on the weather. bill karins is under the weather, no pun intended, but we're happy to have raphael

miranda from our affiliate wnbc joining us. thank you. starting off in the tropics this morning, tropical storm leslie now a threat for bermuda, winds of 65 miles per hour. tropical storm warnings are in effect. the storm will pass to the east of bermuda, the western side of the storm, the weaker side still bringing lots of heavy rain and gusty winds. you can see that forecast path will take leslie back to a category 1 hurricane as it passes to the east of bermuda tomorrow afternoon. and we're seeing those rip currents, as you already mentioned, across the east coast. closer to home, there is that severe weather threat for the northeast, including new york city, especially later on today, but really, all up and down the east coast watching out for the potential for strong to severe storms and maybe extensive airport delays. that's a look at your national

and now here's jenna. >> all right, raphael, thank you very much. now to that bomb hoax that forced the us airways jet bound for texas to return to philadelphia on thursday. authorities are saying a soured love triangle may be to blame. more from nbc's charles hadlock. >> reporter: the fbi says 26-year-old kenneth w. smith jr. of philadelphia admitted making the telephone call to police that forced the us airways jet bound for dallas to turn around in midair. >> no comment, please. >> reporter: but that was the beginning of a high-flying drama that resulted in the arrest of a man who used to date smith's girlfriend. in the phone call, authorities say smith claimed that christopher schell, a passenger on the plane, was carrying a

liquid explosive. a s.w.a.t. team surrounded the plane in philadelphia and removed schell in handcuffs but they found no explosives. steve mcneil was sitting next to him. >> going back to texas for a birthday. the company he was works for was paying for him to go back, said he just broke up with his girlfriend. >> reporter: schell told authorities that he believed his ex-girlfriend and smith were responsible for the phone call threat. schell was released without charges and allowed to fly on to dallas. the fbi arrested smith and charged him with giving false and misleading information about an explosive device. >> it's just an incredibly foolish and irresponsible thing to do and the bottom line is it's criminal. >> reporter: a federal affidavit says smith admitted he made the phone call to avenge his girlfriend for a compromising photo he says schell posted on facebook. >> it is the kind of photo that could incent a boyfriend. >> reporter: smith was released on personal recog fanses but could face up to ten years in prison. >> i don't believe my client had

any ill will or meant any harm or any disruption of service. >> reporter: in texas, christopher schell never arrived at his birthday party. when his plane finally landed at dfw airport, he was handcuffed again and taken to jail for misdemeanor outstanding drug charges. he was released friday after posting a $3,000 bond. >> gentlemen have a nice day. >> reporter: charles hadlock, nbc news, dallas. and still to come on "today," some of hollywood's biggest names come together in the fight against cancer. but first, this is "today" on nbc. anncr: this casino's in west virginia.

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question seven. good jobs and better schools in maryland. not west virginia. if you turned on the tv last night, even if you were flipping channels, you were bound to see it, the third "stand up 2 cancer" event brought together dozens of celebrities and cancer survivors to raise millions for research and treatment. nbc's diana aliar was there and

has the latest from hollywood. >> cancer is one big book, but if we all stand up to cancer together, we can kick its ass so good, it will never come back. >> reporter: samuel l. jackson putting it the way only he can, just one of the dozens of hollywood stars, athletes and celebrities who came together friday night to "stand up to cancer." there was all the usual glamour and glitz on this red carpet, but it was also a chance for celebrities to tell us who they stand up for. >> i stand up for everyone. >> i stand up for my uncle joe. >> i stand up for my mother. >> reporter: hollywood super producer sherry lansing helped create the event four years ago. since then, it's raised more than $180 million, funding cutting-edge research and break-through treatment. >> anything that i ever did before in my career pales in comparison to trying to find a cure for this disease. >> reporter: so, they shared personal stories.

>> i lost my father to cancer. >> reporter: performed songs. ♪ >> what's your last name, eric? >> reporter: and worked the phones to thank donors. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: this year, there's a new goal, to create a pediatric dream team focused on the youngest victims. >> cancer kills a child every four hours in this country. >> please stand up for justin miller. >> reporter: justin miller's been fighting neuro blastoma since 3 years old. >> i don't really think about it, but if i ever do, i'm listening. >> reporter: also still fighting, michael douglas, a throat cancer survivor. >> let me tell you, cancer's in for one hell of a fight. ♪ live like you were dying >> reporter: a fight they vow to win together. for "today," diana alviar, nbc news, hollywood. meantime, we learned this week that author judy bloom is recovering from surgery after being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 74.

>> bloom always the writer blogged her six-week journey from diagnosis to recovery, often throwing in the light-hearted humor many readers have come to love from her. she writes, "a-cups? the breast surgeon asked at our first meeting. she nailed it. i told her the exercises didn't work for me, not sure she got my attempt at a joke. like margaret, i used to think that bigger was better." and if you read her books, you know margaret is from her book "are you there, god? it's me, margaret." >> look at the books we have here, at least 25 others have sold more than 80 million copies worldwide. she expressed her shock and disbelief that a lot of people get when they have similar news. she writes, "wait, me? there's no breast cancer in my family. i haven't eaten red meat in more than 30 years, i've never smoked, i exercise every day, forget alcohol. how is this possible? well, guess what," she writes, "it's possible." >> i used to walk around with

these books. "otherwise known as sheila the great," "super fudge," these were incredible books, still are today. >> we wish her well in her fight against cancer. >> yeah. >> and there's more ahead after this. for months, i had this deep pain all over my body. it just wouldn't go away. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can plan my days and accomplish more. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica.

don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. and there's juicy chicken hellmann's is the secret to making parmesan crusted chicken so juicy so delicious it's your secret to making dinner disappear hellmann's. bring out the best one pharmacist started it all: charles walgreen had a mission to help people be happy and healthy. from inventing the first chocolate malt... to creating a nonprofit pharmacy for our troops... to the first child safety caps. walgreens has been innovating for over a hundr years. and we're just getting started. with more and more ways to be well every day. here at the corner of happy and healthy. 100% natural ingredients like roasted peanuts,

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forest taylor were held at that time cathedral of mary our queen. officer taylor was in route to a call when his cruiser collided with another vehicle back in february. he died last week from his injuries. >> he's a testament and example of really what it takes to have a dedicated long career. 17 years doing all those difficult assignments. he is the example of commitment. >> officer taylor was laid to rest in his home town of annapolis. he leaves behind a wife and two children. the co-founder of h&s bakery has passed away. called a pillar of the greek community, tsakalos opened h&s in 1943, the h standing for harry, the s for steve fp bread was made by hand and delivered personally. h&s bakery has grown into one of the largest bakeries on the east coast. it's still family owned and operated. harry tsakalos was

>> humid in the 70s this morning. there are some stormy conditions out west. a cold front coming in. that front will help, too, this afternoon and this evening, generate some shower and thunderstorm activity. some possibly severe. 83 to 88 the high, southwest winds at 10 to 20 miles an hour. strong craft advisories out on the bay. gusty winds up to 25 knots with a three-foot chop on the open waters of the bay. and the seven-day forecast. after those storms go through tomorrow, we'll be less humid, we'll get some sun back in the picture. lisa?

>> thanks, john. and thank you for joining us. 11 news saturday morning continues in 25 minutes. and we're back on a saturday morning. it's the 8th day of september already, 2012. what a great crowd out on the plaza this morning. we're going to join them outside in just a few minutes. inside studio 1a, i'm jenna wolfe alongside lester holt. yes, just double-checking, just wanted to make sure. it's early. >> amazing they slip in these alternate anchors at weird times. >> believe me. coming up in this half hour, a maryland state trooper really lucky to be alive. >> we've seen too many things like this. this is tough to watch, this video taken on his dashboard cam. he was hit during a traffic stop and we'll see how he's doing and

why he thinks drivers need to be more careful, although i think the picture illustrates why people need to be more careful. >> that was a hubcap. plus, have they have their last laugh as a couple? more on amy poehler and will arnett separating after nine years of marriage. then, take a look at a bunch of high school performers and ask them to put on a musical in five days all while competing to be the best, and what do you get? some pretty high-intensity drama both onstage and off. we'll tell you more about this. lots of tears, too, coming up. then, olympic soccer gold medalist alex morgan is stopping by here to give us some tips on how to score goals and how to keep from getting injured. it's not an easy task. she's outside right now having some fun with some kids and we're going to join her in a little bit. so, we got a memo yesterday that alex is going to be here and to bring our sneakers. >> yeah. >> what did you bring? you brought the whole -- >> i brought the shin guards -- >> and everything. >> the mouthpiece and helmet and shoulder pads from my eighth grade soccer uniform. i don't know.

i didn't know how intense we were getting, so. >> she'll give us some friendly tips. >> key word there being friendly. okay. then next week, want to tell you, we're celebrating 25 years of "weekend today." >> one week from tomorrow, we're going to take a look at the history and highlights that happened during our show, and there are some real memorable moments and some of your favorite former anchors will stop by the studio as well. >> it's going to be a pretty exciting weekend, so looking forward to that. but we begin this half hour with the drew peterson verdict. after a lengthy trial, the jurors are speaking out about how and why they came to find peterson guilty of murder. nbc's veronica de la cruz has more. >> i don't think anybody took the decision lightly. i mean, you're dealing with a man and his life. >> reporter: the big question surrounding this case all along was hearsay evidence. can a man be convicted based on what witnesses say an alleged victim told them? >> once we heard the testimony about stacy peterson, you know, drew telling him this is what's

going to happen, this is what you have to say. >> he showed up by the washing machine with the women's clothing and told her she was going to be interviewed by the police. >> reporter: drew peterson, a former police officer in bolingbrook, illinois, first fell under suspicion when his fourth wife, stacy peterson, mysteriously disappeared in 2007. authorities decided to look into the death of his third wife, kathleen savio. she was found dead in a dry bathtub with a gash in the back of her head in 2004. it was ruled accidental at the time. prosecutors exhumed the body and determined that she had been murdered. it was a story that made headlines. >> can you look me straight in the eye and tell me that you had nothing to do with the death? >> i can look right in your eye and say i had nothing to do with either of those incidences. >> reporter: and even became a lifetime original movie. >> i'm untouchable. >> reporter: to make their case, prosecutors relied on the testimony of savio's family members, who said she told them she feared that peterson would kill her and try to make it look

like a suicide. >> most people are uncomfortable with the notion that hearsay can be used to convict. >> reporter: illinois passed a law known as drew's law, which made their testimony admissible in court. >> they passed a law specifically to get this individual. >> reporter: peterson's lawyers plan to appeal all the way to the supreme court. as for the missing stacy peterson, prosecutors may use their success in this case to go after drew peterson again. >> we took him on now and he lost. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: for "today," veronica de la cruz, nbc news, new york. we want to get a check of the weather now from wnbc's raphael miranda, who's here with us this morning. raphael, good morning again. >> good morning, guys. it's been so muggy here in the northeast over the last couple days. we have a strong cold front that will change that, but in between, we have a severe to strong risk for thunderstorms for later today for new york city, down to philly, baltimore, even into interior new england, watching out for wind damage, very heavy rain, dangerous

lightning and a few isolated tornadoes not out of the question as you're heading throughout the day, especially later on this afternoon. watch out for those storms. you can see the radar shows a strong line of storms already marching across western pennsylvania, all this associated with a cold front that's going to slide on towards the east throughout the day today. behind that cold front, a major cooldown for the midwest, down to 70. nice and comfy in chicago. temperatures in the 70s across the plains. but it's very hot across the northwest, temperatures in the 80s in the pacific northwest. that's a look at your national io

and we've got "sunday night football" going on tomorrow as a big game out west. steelers taking on the broncos. beautiful weather for football, clear and mild, temperatures nice and comfy in the 70s, but it is peyton manning's first game with the denver broncos. so, that's a big night for the nfl, and the weather couldn't be better out there in denver. jenna, back to you. >> raphael, thank you very much. you've heard the warnings, move over when you see a police officer pulled over on the side of the road. well, some disturbing dash cam video really drives that message home. alex witt is back with that story. alex? >> so disturbing, jenna. it is a reminder of how dangerous highways can become for law enforcement when drivers don't pay attention. and this morning to our viewers, some of this video's quite startling. it all happened in an instant during a routine traffic stop. a tractor-trailer driving too close to the shoulder slammed into maryland state trooper david avila's patrol car and

then struck avilas. he immediately called dispatch for help, making his way to the guardrail before collapsing. >> stay in the car! stay in the car! stay in your car! >> i heard the rumble strip just before the vehicle came across or came towards me and took a quick glance over my shoulder and kind of saw it. >> reporter: close calls caught on camera happen more often than you might think. in new york, a car spun out of control due to icy road conditions, slamming into an officer who was assisting another driver. in michigan, a policeman nearly escaped being pinned between two cars during a crash investigation. and in texas, an officer barely got away after a speeding car hit his patrol car. avila, now in physical therapy, isn't sure when he'll be able to move his arm or return to work. he hopes his near-death experience urges drivers to pay more attention out on the roads.

>> my main thing right now would be just to bring more to light what the law is and what it's there for and to at least keep other officers from having to go through the same thing. >> ooh! well, a new law aims to do just that. in maryland, the move over law requires drivers to slow down or switch lanes when they see emergency responders on the side of the road. jenna and lester, let's hope this helps, right? whoo! >> yes, absolutely. >> indeed, alex. thank you very much. coming up next, fans take to the internet to express their heartbreak after one of hollywood's funniest couples calls it quits. but first, these messages. ] hurry up or we'll miss the bus! come on! ♪ whatcha got there, richard? they're for show & tell. wasn't that yesterday? yup, but the class wants me to do it again. [ male announcer ] tim and richard smucker learned early on

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[ music playing ] a deep, throbbing, persistent ache. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can do more of the things that i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet.

don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. we're back now with news of another hollywood couple who may be calling it quits. for years, they've made us laugh, but this week, life took a serious turn for comedian and actress amy poehler and actor-comedian will arnett with the announcement that they're separating. nbc's michelle franzen has more. [ laughter ] >> do i really laugh like that? >> oh, well -- >> well, well. >> reporter: comedic couple amy poehler and will arnett have taken a serious turn with their relationship, announcing through their publicist they are separating. >> the statement was just that they've separated and that it was amicable. >> reporter: the pair married for nine years seemed to have it all, sharing the joy of their two young boys and thriving careers.

the former "snl" star is currently nominated for two primetime emmys for nbc's "parks and recreation." >> but if he is, i will kill him. >> reporter: arnett is enjoying success on his own series, "up all night," and his emmy-nominated guest role on "30 rock." >> you don't tell me what kind of pizza to like! >> reporter: as well as a reunion of the cult favorite series "arrested development." >> they're both enjoying success, but with that success comes what we always hear, conflicting schedules. >> reporter: they seem to be one of those celebrity couples fans identified with. >> one of those hollywood couples you really don't want to break up. you like watching them grow together. >> i'm happy to hear amy's on the market now, but it's still quite upsetting. >> reporter: many took to the internet to express their disbelief and grief. posted on twitter included, "i feel like my best friends have broken up. saddest celebrity split ever." and "i want to move away until amy poehler and will arnett can work things out." >> it makes you kind of think, god, if it happens to them, it could happen to anyone.

>> reporter: they are the latest celebrity couple to call it quits, from heidi klum and seal to tom and katie and the shocking breakup of kristen stewart and robert pattinson, after she publicly apologized for having an affair. meanwhile, fans of poehler and arnett are still holding out hope love and laughs will win out. >> so, there is a chance that they could get back together, and i know a lot of people on the sidelines in hollywood are rooting for hem. >> reporter: for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. up next, broadway or bust. the behind-the-scenes look at an intense theater boot camp as competing students put on a broadway show in just five days. but first, these messages. [ male announcer ] this is sheldon, whose long dy setting up the news

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okay, so, it is part competition, part performance and a whole lot of drama. the best of america's young talent comes to new york city to go head to head for the national high school theater awards. so, we went behind the scenes to see how these students stacked up. ♪ ♪

>> from memphis, tennessee -- >> to memphis on broadway, hello, new york! >> reporter: meet america's top high school performers. >> yes! i'm going to broadway! >> reporter: 60 students chosen from more than 50,000 hopefuls, all to take part in a grueling, five-day musical theater boot camp and competition. >> whoo! nyc, baby. >> reporter: at the end, they'll put on a broadway show. >> whoa. >> when the kids come here, they hit the ground running. it's like an indoor marathon. they're working mornings, noon and night. welcome, everybody. you made it! [ cheers and applause ] >> i'm kisha, i'm the choreographer. as soon as we're done with this little talk tonight, we start rehearsing. you will learn the vocals for the opening and closing tonight. >> reporter: it's their first night and rehearsals are already under way. they only have two hours to learn the opening number. >> on the inside and then you wrap your lips around the front. >> reporter: nerves on edge. >> when you have such intense

competition around you, it really humbles you. i'm like, and i thought i was good? it's like, are you serious? there's talent everywhere you look. >> reporter: and when the one-on-one coaching sessions begin early the next morning with broadway's top talent, the jitters get even worse. >> wait, what's the starting note? i'm sorry. i got you. >> three, two -- >> i'm sorry. >> reporter: over the next few days, the rehearsals become more intense. >> absolutely not even close. go back! >> reporter: from breakdowns -- ♪ >> it's all right. >> reporter: -- to breakthrough. >> yes! >> this is a big deal because i mean, like -- >> i'm pushing you because i know you can. >> reporter: while all 60 are working together to put on a broadway show, only 2 will walk away with the highly coveted jimmy award for best actor and actress, receiving a $10,000

scholarship. >> relax. >> reporter: the night before their final performance, the students sing solos in front of a panel of judges. ♪ >> from the top, are there some people we can drop down? ♪ >> reporter: but whether they win the competition or not, this is a dream come true for everyone involved, a chance to take center stage on the great white way. ♪ >> to find out who wins the competition, tune in to "broadway or bust" tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern time on cbs. and up next, u.s. olympic soccer superstar alex morgan is here on the plaza. i've got my sneakers on.

we are ready to play some soccer. but first, this is "today" on nbc. anncr: it'll start out as concrete and steel... but it'll become so much more. a new world-class resort casino in maryland. two thousand construction jobs to build it. four thousand permanent, good-paying jobs when it's done. hundreds of millions for maryland schools... real oversight to make sure the money goes... where it's supposed to. but none of it will happen unless we vote for... question seven this november. vote for question seven.

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we have a very special guest joining us out here on the plaza this morning. you may remember soccer star alex morgan's dramatic, last-minute goal in overtime during the olympics semifinal match. the win pushed the u.s. to the finals where they went on to win gold. >> and since returning from london, alex has made it her mission to educate young athletes on injury prevention. alex, welcome! great to have you here. >> thank you! thanks for having me. >> you've been working with the kids, and you had come back from an injury, too, right before the games, right? >> yeah. well, i had an injury in high school, so that was quite a while ago. >> but you know about recovery and the concerns. >> yeah, i know about injury prevention and we'ith the injur prevention program, it teaches kids and teenagers how to

prevent injury through the proper warm-up. >> you stress that before you start, this is the key. you really want to get them warmed up and get their muscles loose and ready to go. >> it's huge. warm-up and recovery i think are the biggest components to staying healthy on the field. so, we're going to show you one exercise, but i've teamed up to go around to at least 15 cities and teach clinics to kids, parents and coaches all around the country. >> well, we're going to do penalty kicks in a moment, but give us some warm-up exercises. >> well, there's some running exercises that some of the more balanced exercises are like the squat. so, you just want to be hip width apart and we're going to squat down. make sure your knees don't go over your toes. so, you want to squat down, and when you come up, come up on your toes. >> oh, okay. >> so, squat. >> right. >> and then come up on your toes. >> scale of one to ten, is lester rocking these sneakers? >> should have gone with gym socks. >> that's okay. okay, so, we're down and we're up. >> you do a bunch of those and that kind of loosens up.

>> bunch of those, and there's lunges involving and planking involved and a lot of balance and pliability. >> it's a great lesson for amateur athletes. we get in trouble when we don't warm up. let's talk about the proper way to kick a penalty kick. >> okay. >> this is the most fun part of the game sometimes, right? >> the most stressful and the most fun. >> all right, the most stressful. >> let's pick a ball that matches our sneakers. there we go. >> shoot to this goal? >> oh, we're shooting over here? >> i guess we're shooting over here. >> i think you're shooting on each other, right? you go first. >> all right. >> i'm sorry, i don't mean to be ig north. do you kick with the toe or this way? >> no, with the inside. >> inside, like that, okay. >> watch the face! watch the face. >> it's going right there. >> he didn't even get in. try it again. >> one more, one more. >> one more. >> all right. >> make somewhat of an effort. you're only three feet away. >> all right, ready? >> yeah! >> alex, will you please? >> we need to switch. >> go ahead. >> no, i want alex to score on

you first. go ahead. >> okay. >> um, hello, she has just a little bit more experience. >> all right, ready? >> face, face! watch the face! >> all right! >> oh, oh! >> that is good! >> quickly, 30 seconds, jenna. >> can i try? >> you got it! >> ready? >> kick it hard. >> wait, i wasn't ready! anyway. >> is that it? is that it? >> that was it. >> alex, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> alex morgan, really appreciate your time. that's it for us on a saturday morning. we'll be back tomorrow morning. >> all right, take care, everybody. thanks for watching. [ male announcer ] on one corner, one pharmacist started it all: charles walgreen had a mission to help people be happy and healthy. from inventing the first chocolate malt... to creating a nonprofit pharmacy for our troops... to the first child safety caps. walgreens has been innovating for over a hundred years.

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good morning and welcome to 11 news saturday morning. >> here's a look at some of our top stories. residents in howard county can rest easier this morning after police say they solved a string of home burglaries that have been plaguing the area for months. authorities have connected three men to at least five burglaries at houses in the areas starting back in july. there could be more charges coming. according to detectives andrew parker, william selby and joshia sentilli broke into homes in the western area of the county. they made off with cash and other valuables in just about every case. the men were finally tracked down after police used surveillance video to monitor

one of the suspects. police in morrisville, north carolina, are investigating whether five high school football players from maryland hired prostitutes to come to their hotel after their season opener. five high school players are accused of hiring prostitutes after they won their game against durham hillside high school on august 31st. officials say the student athletes have been removed from the team. get ready to see a lot more of this in the coming days. state agricultural officials have been spraying neighborhoods across maryland to control the mosquito population, all in response to a rise in west nile cases. as of right now, more than a dozen cases of the virus have been reported in people in maryland. 14 exactly. you can find a complete schedule of the state's planned spraying. tfrjts time now is 7:58. 75 degrees here on tv hill. here's a look at what's coming up next on 11 news saturday morning.

>> fans will have the opportunity to pay their respects to art modell later today. it's something baltimore sports fans have been waiting 15 years for. we'll explain just ahead. had enough of the summertime heat and humidity? well, some strong storms and some cooler air should put an end to that. we'll talk about it with